Jeff Keister

Physicist, Experiment Development, Photon Science Division

Dr. Keister joined the NSLS-II project in February 2009, with his primary role being the refurbishment and operation of the NSLS X16A R&D beamline dedicated to the testing and characterization of x-ray optics relevant for the IXS NSLS-II Project beamline. Since this time he has additionally undertaken the execution of optics and detector development, coordinating test runs at NSLS as well as third generation light sources APS, Petra-III and SPring-8. Through 2013, Dr. Keister also supported the development of the BDN beamlines by collecting requirements for front ends and white beam optics, and construction of the NIST beamlines by serving as facility liaison, assisting with overall project documentation as well as acquisition and interface definition for the short wavelength undulator.

In 2013, Dr. Keister took on the role of deputy Project Manager for the NEXT project, a DOE MIE delivering 5 world-class beamlines to NSLS-II, meeting all project objectives on time and under the allocated $90M budget. In this role, he controlled and communicated cost, scope, schedule and risk, and served as overall project Risk manager. He holds a PMP certification, and provides project management guidance to a variety of teams at BNL.

Since completion of NEXT in 2017, Dr. Keister has been active in instrumentation development and deployment for experimental systems common to multiple beamlines, such as diagnostics, detectors, and sample environments. In this role he manages the NSLS-II Detector Pool, extending the beamlines' capabilities with complete systems which collect scientific data and integrate with beamline workflows. He also maintains engagement in development of complex instrumentation, incorporating detectors, optics, and sample environments, as well as potential realization of an at-wavelength instrumentation test beamline at NSLS-II.

Dr. Keister comes to NSLS-II with an extensive background in synchrotron instrumentation, from experiments in chemical dynamics at LURE and ALS in 1993-1997, to surface and interface science at NSLS-U4A in 1997-2000, to leading radiometric calibration beamlines U3C and X8A at NSLS from 2004 to 2009. Between 2000 and 2004 Dr. Keister worked at KLA-Tencor in Silicon Valley designing and optimizing commercial metrology instruments utilizing both UV and electron optics.